Who should bat at No. 3 for England?
Few great sides have lacked a top-class No
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Few great sides have lacked a top-class No. 3 and few good sides have carried a No. 3 who was not making runs. And yet, today, England are unclear who should be playing there, writes Simon Wilde in the Sunday Times.
Ian Bell has averaged 15 since moving to that position when Kevin Pietersen took over as captain; before him, Michael Vaughan averaged eight there in four matches against South Africa. It is one reason England have rarely won of late.
In the Daily Telegraph, Steve James writes that Kevin Pietersen has been struggling with his technique for the first time in his career and wonders whether it is wise to burden him with captaincy.
... just imagine if Pietersen had been in nick all year. Because he still ended the year as England's leading run scorer in both Tests (with 1,015 runs) and one-dayers (658), their player of the year by some distance. He is the man. As compatriot Gary Kirsten, India's coach and generally a man of understatement, says in their local vernacular: "Jeez, he's dangerous is that oke". He sure is.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo